fSCHOOL  HOYS  0['T  TO  MEKT  THE  MISSIONARY'- “TWO  MILES  FROM  CHINNAMl’O 


The  Korean  Revival 

An  A(*count  of  the  Revival  in 
the  Korean  Churches  in  1907 


By 

THE  REV.  GEORGE  IIEBER  JONES,  D.D., 

AND 

THE  m:v.  w.  Arthur  noble 


THE  BOARD  OF  FOREIGN  MISSIONS  OF  THE 
METHODIST  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH 

150  FIFTH  AVENUE,  NEW  YORK 


Price,  Ten  Cents 


PRINTED  SEPTEMBER,  1910 


THE  KOREAN  REVIVAL 


The  present  is  a time  of  widespread  manifestation  of  the 
presence  of  God  in  the  hearts  of  men — a manifestation  which 
has  appeared  in  widely  separated  regions  of  the  world,  and 
in  diversified  manner,  yet  always  distinguished  by  at  least  two 
characteristics,  prayer  and  the  descent  of  the  Holy  Spirit.  In 
illustration  of  this  we  have  the  great  revival  in  Wales,  the 
outbreak  in  Australia,  and  the  overwhelming  storm  in  Korea. 

It  is  interesting  to  note  the  train  of  events  which  led  up 
to  the  Korean  revival.  During  the  month  of  August,  1906, 
the  missionaries  at  Pyengyang  sought  a deeper 
Preparation  experience  of  God’s  power  in  their  own  lives,  and 
for  this  purpose  meetings  for  Bible  study  and  prayer 
■were  held  for  eight  days.  During  these  meetings  a special 
burden  for  the  Korean  Church  was  laid  upon  them  and  in 
response  to  their  suggestion,  hundreds  of  the  Korean  Chris- 
tians covenanted  to  spend  one  hour  a day  in  prayer  for  the 
outpouring  of  the  Holy  Spirit.  This  concert  of  prayer  con- 
tinued through  the  autumn  and  winter,  when  in  the  first  week 
of  January,  1907,  the  Holy  Spirit  was  literally  poured  forth 
on  the  people  and  the  fire  of  his  presence  spread  rapidly  through- 
out the  whole  city  and  the  surrounding  country.  This  was  the 
outbreak  of  that  revival  which  can  best  be  likened  to  a storm. 

Its  course  may  be  gathered  in  an  incomplete  way  from 
what  is  told  here,  but  it  would  be  no  more  possible  to  write 
an  adequate  description  of  this  revival  than  it  would  be  possible 
to  describe  some  terrific  conflict  of  the  forces  of  nature  as 
witnessed  by  some  one  standing  at  the  storm  center.  Figures 
are  powerless  to  express  its  results,  for  it  is  no  more  possible  to 
convey  an  idea  of  what  it  achieved  by  mentioning  numbers 
of  converts  added  to  the  church — though  there  were  thousands 
of  these — nor  the  number  of  Christians  led  out  into  the  freedom 


of  a new  life  in  God — of  whom  there  were  50,000 — than  it 
would  be  possible  to  express  the  divine  majesty  in  the  three 
dimensions  known  to  mechanical  science. 

There  were  many  striking  contrasts  among  the  outstanding 
features  of  this  revival.  A spirit  of  deep-seated  and  intense 
antagonism  opposed  it.  In  Pyengyang  many  of  the 
Antagonism  church  leaders  were  at  first  violent  in  their  oppo- 
sition to  it.  At  another  place  one  of  the  missionaries 
announced  that  if  any  of  his  people  confessed  such  sins  as  hail 
been  revealed  in  the  services  at  Pyengj'ang,  he  would  promptly 
expel  them  from  the  church.  He  found,  however,  when 
eventually  his  church  was  shaken  to  its  very  foundations,  that 
to  have  carried  out  his  threat  would  have  left  him  without 
any  chm'ch  members,  while  by  favoring  the  revival  he  had  a 
Spirit-filled,  cleansed,  and  newborn  people.  At  a third  place 
some  of  the  official  members  of  the  church  were  reatly  to 
mob  the  messengers  who  came  to  urge  upon  them  the  necessity 
of  seeking  complete  cleansing  at  God’s  hand,  but  before  the 
meetings  terminated  they  were  only  too  glad  to  fall  prostrate 
at  the  foot  of  the  cross  and  acknowledge  that  their  antagonism 
had  been  against  their  Lord. 

A second  feature  of  the  revival  was  the  great  mental  dis- 
tress thi’ough  which  many  of  the  penitents  passed.  This  can 
be  illustrated  by  a scene  the  first  Sunday  morning 
Distress  in  the  Methotlist  Episcopal  Church  in  Pyengyang. 

of  Penitents  The  church,  the  largest  in  Korea,  was  filled,  over 

two  thousand  being  present.  One  of  the  missionaries 
was  in  charge.  After  a short  sermon  the  meeting  was  thrown 
open,  and  immediately  a young  man  prominent  in  church  work 
arose  and  in  tears  confessed  to  a sinful  life.  When  he  had 
finished  he  flung  himself  on  the  floor  in  agony  and  cried  to 
God  for  mercy.  Then  followed  a scene  that  is  beyond  descrip- 
tion. Men  all  over  the  church  were  stricken  to  the  floor,  as 
though  hurled  there  by  thunderbolts,  where  they  writhed  in 
their  agony,  while  the  house  was  filled  with  cries  for  mercy. 
So  great  was  the  distress  in  every  direction  that  no  one  could 
turn  to  any  particular  one  to  give  aid;  indeed,  the  only  desire 
of  the  penitent  ones  was  the  privilege  of  confessing  their  sins. 

6 


When  anyone  attempted  to  talk  with  them,  they  seemed 
almost  impatient  of  human  effort  to  give  direction  to  their 
thoughts. 

Scenes  of  this  kind  were  repeated  daily.  They  would 
come  upon  the  meetings  without  notice,  and  men  of  different 
temperaments  were  alike  affected.  At  one  meeting,  when  the 
opportunity  was  given  the  congregation  to  take  part,  a man 
who  had  been  a church  member  for  ten  years  arose.  He  had 
been  working  for  a number  of  years  as  an  overseer  of  gangs 
of  coolies  employed  in  the  erection  of  mission  buildings,  a 
position  which  demands  force  of  character  and  energy.  Pre- 
viously he  had  mocked  at  the  revival,  being  highly  amused 
by  the  idea  of  himself  in  the  role  of  a penitent.  When  he 
arose  to  speak  on  this  occasion,  he  appeared  to  be  so  self- 
possessed  and  undisturbed  that  the  leader  of  the  meeting  felt 
that  his  attempt  at  a confession  was  either  perfunctory  or 
frivolous.  This  fear  was  not  a groundless  one,  for  certain 
incidents  had  ha{)pened  which  had  caused  the  leaders  to  keep 
watch  against  any  tendency  to  simulate  the  distress  of  real 
penitence.  As  this  man  began  to  speak,  the  first  sin  he  con- 
fessed was  that  of  embezzling  mission  funds.  The  words  had 
hardly  passed  his  lips  when  he  fell  to  the  floor.  Soon  he  was 
again  on  his  feet  and  for  a moment  continued  his  confession, 
when  he  fell  over  backward,  as  though  struck  in  the  face  by 
a violent  blow.  He  lay  there  for  some  time  unconscious. 
The  mission  physician,  who  was  present,  immediately  went 
to  his  aid.  On  returning  to  the  platform  he  reported  that 
the  man  showed  unmistakable  signs  of  prostration.  His  pulse 
was  faint  and  he  had  become  unconscious.  A number  gathered 
around  the  stricken  man,  in  the*  hope  of  comforting  him,  but 
on  the  request  of  the  pastor  they  retired  and  left  the  penitent 
in  the  hands  of  God,  Indeed,  there  was  so  much  distress  in 
every  part  of  the  church  by  this  time  that  there  was  little 
reason  for  caring  for  this  man  more  than  for  others  in  dis- 
tress, who  were  so  numerous  that  the  task  of  succoring  each 
one  individually  was  an  impossibility.  After  a while  the 
unconscious  man  recovered  and  again  attempted  to'  rise. 
Several,  noticing  his  desperate  struggles,  went  to  his  assistance, 
7 


but  without  avail,  for  his  agony  was  so  great  that  it  was  im- 
possible for  him  to  continue  his  confession  that  day. 

At  this  meeting  there  occurred  an  incident  which  illustrates 
the  terrible  character  of  some  of  the  confessions  made  and 
which  we  relate  with  great  hesitancy.  While  it  is 
A Terrible  true  that  many  of  the  early  converts  know  little  of 

Confession  what  is  required  of  a Christian,  yet  the  purity  of 

the  life  of  the  Korean  Church  as  a whole  will  compare 
favorably  with  that  of  the  Christians  in  any  land.  No  Korean 
is  permitted  to  hold  relation  as  a church  member  who  has  not 
given  up  all  heathen  practices;  and  among  other  things  par- 
ticular emphasis  is  laid  upon  the  observance  of  the  Sabbath. 
Missionaries  of  all  denominations  are  unanimous  in  the  opinion 
that  the  church  in  Korea  had  been,  preceding  the  revival, 
equal  to  that  in  any  mission  field  in  the  world  in  the  spiritual 
power  and  piety  of  its  individual  members.  It  should  be 
remembered  that  this  revival  began  in  the  hearts  of  the  mission- 
aries, among  some  who  seemed  to  lead  the  most  blameless 
lives,  and  in  the  native  church  the  work  also  began  among 
the  most  spiritual  preachers  and  helpers.  This  will  indicate 
how  thorough  and  complete  w^as  the  work  of  the  Spirit,  who 
hesitated  not  to  uncover  the  deepest  depths  of  human  hearts. 
The  incident  about  to  be  related  was  one  of  many,  and  will 
give  a hint,  not  of  the  low  grade  of  Christian  living  in  the 
church,  but  of  the  dark  life  of  a people  without  God,  the  terrors 
of  Avhich  life  they  have  not  been  able  to  forget  even  after  a 
spiritual  reformation. 

The  meeting  one  evening  had  continued  with  unabated 
})ower  till  nearly  midnight,  and  the  leader  was  anxious  to 
close  and  allow  the  people  to  return  home,  for  they  Avere  thor- 
oughly exhausted  and  needed  rest.  When  the  time  of  closing 
arrived  a large  number  of  young  men  Avere  still  on  their  feet 
and  had  been  waiting  some  time  for  an  opportunity  to  confess. 
Among  them  Avas  a young  man  not  over  tAventy  years  of  age. 
He  was  laboring  under  such  terrible  agony  of  mind  that  per- 
mission was  given  him  to  speak.  This  is  the  story  he  told: 
“Not  long  ago  my  mother  died,  leaving  to  my  care  my  baljy 
brother.  T did  my  best  for  him.  I fed  him  Avith  patent  foods 
8 


that  I was  al)le  to  secure  from  the  Japanese  drug  store.  I 
cooked  up  rice  into  a gruel  thinking  that  he  might  like  that, 
and  sometimes  I went  to  the  saloon  and  bought  wine  for  him, 
but  all  the  time  the  child  fretted  for  his  mother  and  cried 
for  hunger.  It  was  impossible  to  stop  his  crying.  Then  I 
wished  he  w'ould  die.”  At  this  point  he  wrung  his  hands 
again  and  again,  while  his  face  was  livid  with  anguish.  Then 
he  continued:  “I  wanted  him  to  die,  and  one  day  I went  out 
of  doors  and  hunted  for  a block  of  wood.  I picked  up  an  old 


BISHOP  HARRIS  AND  A GROUP  OF  KOREAN  PREACHERS 


wooden  pillow  and  came  into  the  room.  I seized  the  crying 
child  and  dragged  him  into  the  middle  of  the  room  and  beat 
his  head  till  he  was  dead!  dead!  dead!”  On  the  instant  of 
the  last  exclamation  the  young  man  fell  to  the  floor,  himself 
as  dead,  and  remained  so  a long  time  after  the  meeting  had 
closed. 

How  was  this  confession  received?  Like  the  confessions  of 
many  others.  It  sent  a shudder  of  horror  over  the  congre- 
gation, and  threw  many  prostrate  on  their  faces  in  sobs  and 
9 


jH-ayors.  In  this  connection  another  question  might  well  be 
asked.  When  the  souls  of  men  are  loaded  with  the  guilt  and 
woe  of  awful  crimes,  where  may  they  go  to  confess  their  guilt 
before  God  if  they  are  debarred  his  house?  The  horror  of 
listening  to  those  confessions  will  abide  as  long  as  memory 
lasts  with  those  who  were  compelled  to  hear.  It  was  often 
impossible  even  to  look  upon  the  faces  cf  those  making  these 
terrible  confessions.  The  only  explanation  of  it  is  that  it  was 
an  exceptional  time,  one  that  rarely  comes  in  the  history  of 
the  church.  Confession  and  contrition  which  all  the  instru- 
ments of  torture  known  to  the  terrible  penal  code  of  Korea 
would  have  been  utterly  impotent  to  bring  about  were  pro- 
duced by  the  power  of  God’s  Spirit. 

Great  amazement  fell  upon  all  within  the  city  walls.  The 
sobs  and  groans  of  the  penitents  in  the  churches  could  be 
heard  for  a great  distance  and  the  scenes  enacted 
Effect  on  filled  the  people  with  wonder  and  fear.  Many  were 
the  City  attracted  to  the  meeting,  some  to  make  sport,  while 
others,  filled  with  the  spirit  of  enmity,  sought  to  create 
disturbances.  Stones  were  hurled  at  the  building  which  came 
crashing  through  the  glass  and  fell  on  the  people  while  at 
worship.  Thefts  of  shoes  occurred.  These  were  the  easiest 
articles  to  steal,  for  in  Korea,  instead  of  removing  their  hats, 
men,  when  they  enter  a church,  remove  their  shoes,  which 
are  left  at  the  door. 

Probably  the  most  diabolical  attempt  to  break  up  a meet- 
ing occurred  one  night  when  there  was  an  audience  of  over 
two  thousand  persons,  more  than  half  of  them 
Attempt  to  being  women.  Among  these  was  a certain  woman 
Start  a Panic  who  was  an  earnest  seeker  and  had  determined  to 
become  a Christian.  This  her  husband  wished  to 
prevent,  and  he  came  to  the  church  on  that  particular  night 
resolved  to  find  her  and  take  her  home.  Being  unable  to 
discover  her  among  the  great  crowd  present,  he  deliberately 
paused  at  the  door  on  the  women’s  side  of  the  church  and 
I)egan  to  yell  “Fire,  fire,  fire !”  As  the  cry  came  ringing  through 
the  church  the  vast  audience  of  women  sprang  to  their  feet 
in  terror,  while  the  men  of  the  congregation,  who  were  sep- 
10 


aratecl  from  the  women  by  a small  lattice  screen,  also  arose 
in  frifjht.  Immediately  there  was  a panic.  When  the  terrible 
rush  and  struggle  was  over,  nearly  a score  of  women  and 
girls  who  had  been  trampled  under  foot  lay  on  the  floor  appar- 
ently dead.  Fortunately  these  fears  proved  unfounded,  and 
though  some  were  seriously  injured,  no  deaths  resulted;  but 
the  memory  of  this  diabolical  deed,  the  result  of  the  hatred 
and  callousness  of  one  man,  remains  in  Pyongyang  to  this  day. 

There  was  some  fear  that  this  event  would  fill  the  minds 
of  the  people  with  such  terror  that  they  could  not  again  be 
induced  to  go  near  the  church.  But  it  proved  otherwise. 
The  meetings  continued  with  unabated  interest,  and,  most 
' remarkable  of  all,  one  of  the  lady  missionaries  who  visited 
the  injured  persons  the  next  day  found  that  they  were  dis- 
posed in  their  ignorance  to  attribute  their  experience  to  divine 
anger  and  punishment  for  their  failure  to  become  Christians — 
for  all  of  the  injured  except  one  were  not  Christians — and  they 
assured  the  missionary  that  as  a result  of  it  they  had  deter- 
. mined  to  become  followers  of  Christ. 

During  the  course  of  the  revival,  thousands  of  the  uncon- 
verted imited  with  the  church  as  inquirers;  yet  this  large 
ingathering  belongs  to  the  indirect  rather 
Renewal  of  than  the  direct  results  of  the  revival.  The 

Professing  Christians  Holy  Spirit  performed  his  special  work  upon 
the  church  membership  rather  than  upon  the 
unconverted,  and  the  terrible  manifestations  of  distress  and 
agony  were  confined  largely  to  the  Christians  themselves. 
Now  that  we  regard  the  visitation  from  the  after  point  of 
view,  this  is  not  difficult  to  understand.  Among  a people 
like  the  Koreans  there  is  no  definite  and  clear  idea  of  the 
true  and  terrible  character  of  sin,  so  that  when  first  converted 
they  are  not  prepared  to  manifest  the  deep  and  awful  convic- 
tion that  is  found  among  those  who  have  been  taught  v/hat 
sin  really  is.  This  fact  has  led  some  into  believing  that  the 
Koreans  are  incapable  of  deep  feeling.  This  revival,  however, 
has  shown  that  having  once  come  under  the  power  of  personal 
conviction,  and  been  placed  in  a position  where  the  Holy  Spirit 
can  work  on  their  hearts,  they  are  capable  of  as  overwhelming 
11 


sense  of  sin  as  any  people  on  earth.  The  one  cry  of  the  Korean 
Cluirch  was  for  heart  cleansing. 

THE  AWAKENING  OF  THE  STUDENTS 

The  story  of  the  revival  has  indicated  clearly  that  it  was 
not  confinefl  to  the  meetings  held  in  the  churches,  but  was 
universal.  The  power  of  God  rested  continuously  on  the 
people,  so  that  in  their  homes,  places  of  business,  and  else- 
where the  same  manifestation  appeared.  This  was  particularly 
true  among  the  students  in  the  mission  schools. 

The  Methodist  and  Presbyterian  Missions  in  Korea  have 
always  carried  on  their  work  in  the  spirit  of  codperation.  The 
unity  which  prevails  has  found  expression  in  the 
The  Students  Pyongyang  Union  College  and  Academy,  which 
of  Pyongyang  with  a common  plant  and  union  faculty  is  a success- 
ful educational  institution  of  over  five  hundred 
students.  This  student  body  offered  splendid  material  upon 
which  the  Spirit  of  God  might  work.  It  was  composed  of 
the  choicest  young  men  from  the  churches  throughout  the 
north,  and  it  is  noteworthy  that  at  the  time  of  the  revival 
every  student  was  a ])rofessing  Christian,  and  its  effect  on 
them  strikingly  illustrates  the  fact  already  mentioned  that  th(‘ 
revival  was  directed  as  a special  blessing  to  the  (liristian 
community  itself.  And  it  is  also  very  significant  that  in 
cleansing  these  students,  God  was  reaching  a body  of  young 
men  destined  to  guide  and  influence  the  entire  church  in 
north  Korea. 

The  opening  of  the  second  school  term  began  while  the 
revival  was  in  the  height  of  its  power,  and  the  students  fell 
under  its  influence  even  more  readily  than  had  the  member- 
ship in  the  city  churches.  During  the  first  week  the  Spirit 
of  God  moved  so  mightily  upon  the  students  that  it  was  not 
possible  for  them  to  direct  their  thoughts  to  their  studies, 
and  routine  work  was  abandoned.  After  the  first  break  of 
the  storm  had  passed,  and  they  were  able  to  get  to  their  books, 
they  would  study  in  quiet  interest,  but  during  the  day,  when 
an  opportunity  was  given  them  for  prayer,  scenes  of  over- 
whelming sorrow  for  their  own  sins  or  for  the  sins  of  fellow 
12 


students  would  be  repeated.  Previous  to  the  opening  of  the 
school,  some  of  the  resident  students  in  Pyengyang  had  in 
the  meetings  held  in  the  churches  gone  through  all  the  won- 
derful experience  of  confession,  followed  by  peace  and  assurance. 
It  was  desired  that  all  students  might  share  in  this,  so  prayer 
meetings  were  held  by  the  Korean  members  of  the  school 
faculty  in  the  office  of  the  principal,  beseeching  God 
Prayers  that  the  coming  term  might  be  marked  by  the  con- 
Answered  quest  of  the  entire  student  body.  One  morning  while 
this  prayer  meeting  was  in  progress,  the  two  mission- 
aries in  charge  of  the  school — one  a Presbyterian  and  the 


PYEXGYAXG  UXIOX  SCHOOL 


other  a Methodist — knelt  together  in  an  adjoining  class  room 
and  prayed  for  relief  from  the  burden  that  had  been  rolled 
upon  their  hearts.  Swiftly  the  answer  came.  The  power  of 
the  Spirit  fell  upon  the  meeting  of  the  Korean  faculty  in  the 
office;  cries  and  sobs  of  anguish  filled  the  room  and  continued 
until  the  peace  of  God  that  passeth  all  understanding  filled 
13 


all  hearts.  The  two  weeks  that  followed  were  dreadful  and 
wonderful.  As  it  was  the  time  of  the  preliminary  examina- 
tions, the  days  were  spent  in  wmrk,  but  the  hour  of  four  o’clock 
in  the  afternoon  was  set  aside  for  student  prayer  meetings 
which  were  held  without  any  visible  leader;  but  the  Leader 
was  there  in  all  his  power  and  majesty.  If  men  ever  dis- 
covered the  terribleness  of  sin  when  revealed  uncovered  in  the 
presence  of  God,  they  did  in  those  days.  First  came  the 
physical  distress,  penitents  beating  the  floor  with  hands  and 
with  head,  and  their  screams  and  outcries  were  as  though  the 
demons  whose  name  is  legion  were  tearing  them;  then  followed 
sobbing  confessions  of  sinful  and  unclean  lives.  One  general 
characteristic  of  these  seekers  was  their  conscientiousness.  No 
half  work  would  satisfy  them.  If  any  of  them  allowed  him- 
self to  be  betrayed  into  being  satisfied  with  less  than  complete 
cleansing,  he  would  soon  discover  how  futile  were  his  attempts, 
and  would  be  brought  low  at  the  foot  of  the  cross,  there  to 
remain  on  his  face  until  God  had  completed  his  work. 

The  experience  of  one  of  the  most  promising  students  is 
illustrative.  He  early  came  under  the  influence  of  the  revival, 
and  after  a severe  mental  struggle  of  several 
The  Experience  days  he  felt  convinced  that  in  spite  of  it  all  he 
of  One  Student  had  yet  failed  to  obtain  the  full  pardon  of  his 

sins.  On  a certain  night  he  met  with  three  com- 
rades and  together  they  spent  the  greater  part  of  the  night 
before  God  in  prayer  and  confession.  Late  the  next  morning 
he  api)eared  at  the  study  of  the  missionary  to  perform  some 
routine  duties  expected  of  him  and  apologized  for  being  late 
by  explaining  the  manner  of  spending  the  night.  The  mission- 
ary asked  him  whether  he  had  secured  the  peace  he  so  earnestly 
sought.  He  replied  in  the  affirmative,  and  the  missionary, 
desiring  to  encounige  him,  talked  on  the  subject  of  a life  with- 
out sin.  That  evening  the  meeting  at  the  school  was  one  of 
great  spiritual  power.  The  distress  and  jigony  shown  by  the 
students  ])roduced  a scene  nevx'r  to  be  forgotten.  Tlie  slain 
of  the  Lord  were  lying  where  they  had  fallen  and  literally 
covered  the  floor.  The  hour  was  drawing  toward  midnight 
and  it  was  necessary  to  close  the  meeting,  yet  more  than 
14 


thirty  Ijoys  were  still  standing  on  their  feet,  some  of  whom 
had  been  waiting  for  hours  for  an  opportunity  to  confess  the 
sin  on  their  bouIs.  It  seemed  hard  to  send  these  young  men 
away  so  heavily  burdened,  but  the  hour  was  late  and  those 
in  charge  brought  the  meeting  to  a close.  The  young  man 
to  whom  we  have  referred  was  noticed  to  be  in  tears.  One 
of  the  lady  missionaries  went  and  repeated  the  question  of 
the  morning,  “Have  you  obtained  peace  through  faith?”  With 
a great  sob  he  broke  out,  “O,  no,  no,  I have  no  peace.”  He 
then  sought  a distant  corner  of  the  chapel  and  throwing  him- 
self on  the  floor  wept  in  an  agony  of  sorrow  until  in  the  bitter- 
ness of  his  anguish  he  sent  some  one  to  call  his  missionary 
friend.  When  the  latter  appeared,  he  cried  out,  “I  lied  to 
you  this  morning.  I wanted  you  to  think  that  I had  obtained 
that  which  the  others  possessed  and  to  think  as  highly  of  me 
as  of  them.  I have  no  peace  of  heart.  O,  what  shall  I do?” 
That  night  he  with  a number  of  others  again  spent  the  whole 
night  in  prayer  and  confession.  God  then  visited  them  in 
. power.  When  the  morning  dawned  the  blessing  was  theirs, 
and  with  hearts  filled  with  gladness  and  joy  they  proclaimed 
their  new  experience  to  all  whom  they  met.  Cleansed,  purified, 
and  empowered  of  God,  the  young  man  immediately 
Complete  Ijecame  one  of  the  most  potent  forces  in  the  revival 
Cleansing  and  exerci.sed  a strong  and  helpful  influence  over  his 
fellow-students.  Later  he  with  many  others  vol- 
unteered for  the  Christian  ministry,  and  they  are  to-day 
doing  splendid  service.  There  were  others  like  him  wlio 
formed  a steadying  element  during  the  terril)le  scenes  which 
followed,  for  in  the  midst  of  the  eonfusion,  grief,  and  dismay 
of  their  fellow-students,  this  advance  guard  were  able  to 
testify  to  the  sense  of  pardon,  peace,  and  joy,  and  thus  help 
others  into  a like  precious  experience. 

Another  notal)le  characteristic  of  this  revival  was  the  call 
to  the  students  to  a life  of  interce.ssory  prayer  on  behalf  of 
their  comrades.  Those  students  who  had  already 
Intercessory  received  the  l^lessing  spent  hours  every  day  in  prayer. 
Prayer  anti  some  passed  whole  nights  on  their  faces  before 

God.  In  this  fact  must  be  found  the  explanation 

15 


for  many  of  the  results  which  attended  the  revival.  After  a 
confession  of  terrible  guilt  on  the  part  of  one  man,  a missionary 
knelt  to  intercede  for  him.  As  he  prayed,  the  missionary, 
crushed  by  the  awful  weight  of  the  other’s  guilt  and  woe, 
himself  fell  prostrate  on  the  floor  to  agonize  before  God  on 
behalf  of  his  Korean  brother,  as  though  he  were  suffering  in 
the  place  of  the  other,  and  would  die  if  relief  were  not  granted. 
It  is  experiences  like  these  that  give  us  a hint  of  the  true  mean- 
ing of  intercessory  prayer  and  help  us  to  understand  what 
Christ  suffered  in  Gethsemane. 

This  feature  of  intercessory  prayer  became  a marked 
characteristic  of  the  meetings  themselves.  A number  of  the 
Christians  as  soon  as  they  would  enter  a meeting  would  fall 
on  their  faces  before  God  and  remain  throughout  the  entire 
service,  utterly  oblivious  to  the  course  of  events,  but  remaining 
with  arms  of  faith  outstretched  to  God  while  the  tumult  of 
repentance,  confession,  and  grief  over  sin  rolled  and  surged 
all  about  them.  Who  were  these  Christians?  They  were  the 
class  leaders,  stewards,  Sunday  school  teachers,  and  trustees 
of  the  church. 

These  students  were  in  earnest  in  going  to  the  root  of 
matters  and  wiping  out  old  scores  and  personal  grudges.  At 
one  of  the  meetings  an 
opportunity  was 
Wiping  Out  given  to  all  who 
Old  Scores  had  any  ill  feeling 
toward  anyone 
present  or  who  had 
wronged  another  in  any 
way  to  make  confession 
and  ask  forgiveness.  A 
memorable  scene  followed. 

The  meeting  broke  into 
numerous  groups  of  stu- 
dents weeping  in  each 
other’s  arms,  nor  did  the 
members  of  the  faculty  escape,  for  boys  who  had  been  unruly  or 
disorderly  knelt  before  them  or  hung  about  their  necks  asking 
16 


pardon  for  past  misdoing.  The  characteristic  faults  of  students, 
the  little  sins  that  so  easily  beset  the  boy  at  school,  the  “crib- 
bing” in  examinations,  thieving  and  falsifying,  spites  and 
grudges  were  confessed,  and  in  the  act  of  confessing  cleansed 
out  of  the  soul.  As  there  are  over  a thousand  pupils  in  the 
various  mission  schools  in  the  city  alone,  and  all  were  alike 
affected,  the  importance  of  this  fact  will  be  recognized. 

The  revival  in  the  High  School  continued  until  every  student 
had  felt  its  power  and  fully  nine  tenths  had  come  into  a con- 
scious experience  of  being  born  again.  The  result 
Results  Among  on  the  life  of  the  school  was  immediate.  Private 
the  Students  devotions  were  carried  on  faithfully  night  and 
morning  by  every  student,  while  two  thirds  of  the 
entire  student  body  could  be  found  in  the  prayer  room  every 
day.  Many  of  them  heard  the  call  to  preach,  and  each  Sunday 
groups  of  students  went  through  the  city  and  to  nearby  country 
villages  carrying  the  gospel  message.  Many  voluntarily  made 
an  offering  of  their  service  for  this  work  during  the  summer 
vacation.  Thirty-three  of  our  boys  took  definite  appointments 
to  preach  without  pay.  One  student  ’^/ho  had  received  per- 
mission to  go  home  for  a few  days  came  back  with  a shining 
face.  The  religious  life  of  his  father  and  mother  had  been 
deepened,  and  an  uncle  had  been  converted.  The  people  of 
his  native  village  had  met  in  the  little  church  to  hear  him 
preach  every  night  while  he  was  there,  and  the  cleansing  power 
of  the  Holy  Spirit  came  upon  them  with  the  same  manifesta- 
tion as  in  the  city.  Ten  persons  had  given  in  their  names  as 
seekers,  and  plans  for  a new  church  and  a girls’  school  had 
been  adopted. 

The  fruits  of  the  revival  were  seen  among  the  students  in 
other  ways.  There  were  a greater  application  to  study  and  a 
marked  deference  to  the  wishes  of  the  teachers. 
Strengthened  Discipline  became  comparatively  easy.  The  roots  of 
Character  bitterness  and  jealousy  were  removed,  and  it  was 
not  an  unusual  thing  for  the  boys  to  begin  their 
ordinary  class  work,  such  as  a recitation  in  geometry,  by  first 
kneeling  in  prayer.  The  revival  did  for  the  character  of  the 
students  what  many  years  of  training  could  not  have  done. 

17 


In  addition  to  the  High  School,  there  was  another  group 
of  young  men  of  even  more  importance  upon  whom  the  revival 
wrought  a marvelous  work.  These  were  the  students 
Students  for  for  the  ministry.  To  understand  the  meaning  of 
the  Ministry  what  took  place,  it  will  be  necessary  to  review  the 
situation  as  regards  the  native  ministry  at  the  time 
of  the  revival. 

For  many  years  there  had  been  a wonderful  turning  of  the 
Korean  people  toward  Christianity,  and  the  increase  of  con- 
verts had  outdistanced  the  ability  of  the  missionary  authorities 
at  home  to  supply  the  necessary  workers  to  care  for  them. 
This  lack  of  missionaries  compelled  the  placing  of  large  respon- 
sibility upon  the  shoulders  of  native  w'orkers  long  before  they 
were  adequately  prepared.  It  is  true  the  loyalty  and  devotion 
of  the  church  in  Korea  had  excited  the  admiration  of  all  fa- 
miliar with  the  facts.  The  helpers  and  preachers  were  diligent 
in  their  work  and  zealous  to  lead  their  countrymen  to  become 
Christians,  but  it  was  still  too  early  in  the  history  of  the  church 
for  the  development  of  a regular  ministry  among  them,  such 
as  we  understand  by  the  term.  The  men  engaged  in  the  work 
were  lay  workers,  numbering  in  the  aggregate  several  hundreds, 

. and  in  order  to  prepare  them  for  their  work  the  missionaries 
held  Bible  institutes  and  training  classes  from  time  to  time 
at  the  mission  centers.  It  was  at  the  great  class  of  over  four 
hundred  men  held  in  Pyengyang  in  December,  1906,  just 
preceding  the  revival,  that  the  attention  of  the  workers  was 
called  to  the  claim  of  the  Christian  ministry  upon  their  lives. 
For  a week  the  matter  waS  prayerfully  considered  by  the  en- 
tire class.  On  the  final  Sunday  an  opportunity  was  given 
to  those  who  had  reached  a decision  to  enroll  themselves  as 
volunteers  for  the  ministry.  Then,  as  though  God  had  himself 
sent  out  the  command,  one  hundred  and  seventy- 
Large  Number  six  Koreans  stepped  out  from  the  ranks  of  the 
of  Volunteers  believers  and  consecrated  themselves  to  the  work 
of  the  Christian  ministry.  Many  of  these  were 
among  the  finest  young  men  in  the  church.  It  is  doubtful 
if  in  any  land  such  a large  body  of  volunteers  for  the  Christian 
ministry  ever  enrolled  themselves  on  a single  occasion. 

18 


When  the  missionaries  came  to  view  this  body  of  stalwart 
young  men,  and  caught  a vision  of  the  task  of  training  and 
preparing  them  for  their  lifework,  a feeling  of  dismay  resulted, 
for  none  felt  equal  to  the  task.  And  yet  the  necessity  was 
imperative,  for  these  men  were  comparatively  recent  converts 
from  the  old  life.  They  personally  recognized  their  need  of 
training  and  were  full  of  intense  desire  to  make  adequate  prep- 
aration, Most  of  them  were  willing  to  pay  any  price  in  the 
way  of  hardship  and  self-denial  to  achieve  this.  As  far  as  the 
attitude  of  the  candidates  for  the  ministry  was  concerned,  there 
was  little  to  be  desired.  But  in  Korea  our  equipment  for  a work 
like  this  both  in  men  and  institutions  is  pitiably  inadequate. 
It  takes  many  tens  of  thousands  of  dollars  and  much  ripe 
scholarship  to  train  students  for  the  ministry  in  America.  As 
the  missionaries  confronted  their  task  in  Korea,  and 
God’s  recognized  the  immensity  of  the  needs  and  the  poverty 
Solution  of  resources,  it  is  little  wonder  that  they  were  appalled. 

Then  came  the  revival  and  it  proved  to  be  God’s  solu- 
tion of  the  difficulty.  It  was  in  full  swing  when  the  class  of 
volunteers  for  the  ministry  assembled  in  Pyengyang  City  for 
a month  of  theological  instruction.  From  the  first  day  the 
power  of  God  was  upon  the  class  and  it  swept  through  them 
until  the  last  man  had  been  cleansed  and  purified. 

The  same  fact  which  has  been  noted  in  connection  with 
the  experiences  of  the  High  School  students  appeared  in 
connection  with  the  theological  students.  The  best 
An  Earnest  men,  those  who  were  the  most  spiritually  minded, 
Seeker  were  the  first  to  be  overwhelmed  with  the  new  expe- 

rience, and  their  distress  was  not  less  than  that  of 
those  not  so  well  instructed  in  Christian  living.  The  history 
of  one  member  of  the  class  may  be  taken  as  typical  of  this. 
He  was  a sturdy  northern  man  who  had  been  a Christian  for 
ten  years.  Moreover,  even  as  a heathen  before  giving  his. 
heart  to  Christ  he  had  been  an  earnest  seeker  after  truth.  In 
Korea  people  of  this  kind  often  appear,  and  are  much  honored 
for  their  piety  and  sanctity.  It  is  usual  for  them  to  resort 
to  some  lonely  mountain  and  there  live  the  life  of  a hermit, 
giving  themselves  to  fasting  and  prayer.  Following  this 
19 


custom,  this  man  spent  two  years  in  the  mountains,  refusing 
to  have  intercourse  with  his  fellow  men;  alone,  with  little  to 
eat  and  scarcely  clothing  enough  to  keep  him  from  suffering 
during  the  severe  winters,  he  spent  his  time  in  studying  the 
Confucian  classics  and  bringing  his  body  into  subjection. 
When  it  was  all  ended,  outwardly  he  appeared  to  have  ob- 
tained his  wishes,  yet  deep  in  his  own  heart  he  was  conscious 
of  failure.  He  knew  himself  to  be  still  the  same  man  that 
had  gone  into  the  wilderness,  with  personal  weaknesses  uncox- 
rected  and  passions  unchanged.  The  emptiness  and  futility  of 
such  a life  grew  upon  him  and  filled  him  with  disgust,  and 
abandoning  his  pretended  holiness  he  sought  again  the  fellow- 
ship and  ways  of  men.  Under  the  influence  of  this  reaction 
he  went  into  the  army,  where  he  plunged  into  all  the  wild 
excesses  of  heathen  soldiery. 

It  was  at  this  time  that  he  came  under  the  influence  of 
Christianity  and  joined  the  church.  Here  his  native  character 
asserted  itself,  for  he  brought  into  the  church  life  the  same 
intensity  of  purpose  which  had  marked  him  as  a hermit  and 
as  a soldier.  He  was  soon  filling  a position  of  responsibility 
in  church  work,  and  in  order  to  be  able  to  give  all  the  time 
possible  to  it,  he  resigned  his  post  as  a petty  officer  in  the 
army,  and,  returning  to  his  father’s  home,  settled  down  to 
the  life  of  a Christian  farmer.  He  began  house-to-house  visita- 
tion throughout  the  town  and  the  adjoining  villages,  telling 
the  story  of  his  own  salvation  and  urging  others  to  seek  Christ. 
As  the  believers  grew  in  number  he  conceived  the  idea  of  build- 
ing a church  in  his  native  village.  A number  of  neighbors 
agreed  to  assist  in  the  matter,  and,  collecting  all  they  could 
possibly  raise,  built  a chapel.  By  the  time  the  rafters  were 
in  place,  however,  their  funds  ran  out  and  they  had  no  money 
with  which  to  pay  the  bills.  Their  only  resource  was  prayer. 
Many  plans  were  discussed,  but  always  with  the  result  that 
the  only  feasible  one  seemed  to  be  to  pray  again.  “No,” 
said  the  leader,  when  repeatedly  asked  regarding  the  results 
of  his  prayers,  “there  is  not  a cash.”  This  continued  for 
some  time  and  the  work  came  to  a standstill.  The  skeleton 
of  the  building  stood  against  the  village  sky-line  like  a ruin, 
20 


and  the  heavens  seemed  deaf  to  all  prayer.  One  day  a meet- 
ing of  all  the  members  was  called  and  after  prayer  the  soldier- 
farmer  solemnly  announced  to  his  fellow-laborers 
Answered  His  that  he  proposed  to  answer  his  own  prayers. 
Own  Prayer  “Now,”  said  he,  “there  is  my  ox,  a strong,  good 
animal  and  worth  considerable  money.  It  is 
the  only  one  I have  to  do  the  work  on  my  farm,  and  what 
I shall  do  when  it  is  gone  I do  not  know,  but  God’s  house 
must  be  finished  and  the  ox  must  help  us  to  do  it.  I will  sell 
the  animal  and  thus  secure  money  to  complete  the  building. 
As  for  the  farm,  let  us  trust  God  that  he  will  take  care  of 
our  fields.”  He  was  as  good  as  his  word  and  immediately 
sold  his  ox.  The  church  was  completed  and  dedicated.  Some 
weeks  later  the  missionary  when  visiting  the  village  and  going 
to  the  fields  saw  this  Korean  Christian  and  his  brother  harnessed 
side  by  side  to 
the  plow  in  the 
place  of  the  ox, 
while  the  aged 
father  of  the 
Christians  held 
the  handles  and 
followed  the  fur- 
row. 

This  was  the 

man  of  whom  we  now  speak,  a local  preacher  in  charge  of  a 
circuit  of  twenty-two  villages.  It  was  with  a Christian  life 
of  this  kind  that  he  came  to  the  theological  class  in 
January,  1907.  It  would  seem  that  there  would  be  very 
little  work  needed  in  the  heart  of  a man  like  this,  yet  he 
was  one  of  the  first  to  fall  under  the  power  of  God.  His 
repentance  and  contrition  for  sin  were  terrible  to  behold. 
The  whole  past  life  before  he  had  found  Christ,  with  its  dark 
record  of  sin,  was  confessed,  while  even  more  intense  was  his 
repentance  over  faithlessness  and  disloyalty  to  Christ  after  he 
had  taken  him  as  his  Saviour.  God  gave  him  pardon  and 
peace,  and  all  the  fierce  powers  of  his  nature  were  tamed  and 
brought  into  subjection  to  the  law  of  Christ.  This  preacher 
21 


went  from  the  theological  class  a different  and  a greater  man 
than  he  was  before  he  came. 

It  was  men  of  such  character  that  passed  through  this 
terrible  storm.  Why  God  should  have  selected  them  is  a 
mystery,  and  yet  their  confessions  revealed  the  fact  that  their 
need  of  an  experience  like  this  was  supreme;  while  the  fact 
that  multitudes  of  fresh  converts  were  coming  under  their 
guidance  and  upon  them  fell  the  duty  of  leading  them  in  the 
way  of  Christ,  rendered  it  the  more  imperative  that  they 
should  be  cleansed  by  the  purifying  power  of  God. 

As  the  missionaries  listened  to  the  confessions  of  some  of 
these  men,  they  could  hardly  credit  their  ears.  Some  men  in 
these  meetings  confessed  that  there  had  been  times  in  their 
lives  when  in  the  awful  hatred  of  their  hearts  they  had  con- 
cealed knives  in  their  clothing  and  followed  missionaries  for 
days  at  a time  seeking  a chance  to  murder  them.  Some  who 
thus  confessed  were  unknown  by  face  to  the  missionaries 
whose  lives  they  had  sought.  Truly  it  was  a revelation  of 
the  character  and  the  needs  of  the  people — the 
Revelations  uncovering  of  Korea’s  hidden  secret  depths.  From 
of  Soul  Life  what  came  out  in  confession,  it  would  seem  that  no 
people  in  the  world  hide  away  in  their  lives  so 
many  tragedies  as  the  Korean  people.  It  is  the  sorrows 
and  griefs  of  life  that  have  molded  Korean  ideas  and  sus- 
ceptibilities. One  may  visit  any  village,  choose  some  indi- 
vidual, and,  pulling  aside  the  curtain  of  his  life,  find  a history 
hidden  away  as  thrilling  as  any  to  be  found  in  fiction.  Though 
this  may  seem  an  extreme  statement,  yet  the  revelation  of 
soul  life  which  came  out  in  the  revival  showed  currents  running  * 

so  deep  and  troubled  that  the  statement  is  justifiable.  The 
scenes  of  violence  and  crime,  the  ruin  of  individuals  and  homes, 
the  innumerable  cases  of  oppression  and  violence  which  were 
told,  would  fill  many  volumes  and  can  be  explained  only  on  i 

the  ground  of  imperfect  laws  and  an  astonishing  disregard  of 
human  life.  It  was  into  hearts  shadowed  by  tragedies  untold 
that  God  sent  the  power  of  his  Holy  Spirit  to  redeem  and 
save. 


22 


SPREAD  OF  THE  REVIVAL 


Long  before  the  special  meetings  were  over  in  the  city  of 
Pyongyang,  manifestations  of  the  same  remarkable  conviction 
of  sin  appeared  in  other  localities,  so  that  in  a short  time  the 
entire  church  in  Korea  was  ablaze,  though  in  varying  degrees. 
This  was  brought  about  in  two  ways.  First,  visitors  from 
other  sections,  coming  under  the  influence  of  the  revival  in 
Pyongyang,  on  returning  to  their  homes,  kindled  revival  fires 
there.  Second,  there  was  an  organized  effort  to  send  the 
stronger  men  who  had  experienced  the  cleansing  power  in 
Pyongyang  to  other  churches  and  localities  to  carry  on  revival 
effort.  The  results  were  widespread  and  lasting. 

One  of  the  first  regions  to  experience  this  spread  of  the 
revival  was  the  North  Pyengan  Province.  The  city  of  Yung- 
l)yen,  the  former  provincial  capital,  is  the  newest 
At  Yungbyen  of  the  mission  stations  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church.  It  has  been  regarded  as  one  of  the  strong- 
est centers  of  spirit  and  fetich  worship  in  Korea,  but  already 
the  church  has  made  such  an  impression  on  the  life  of  the 
people  that  it  is  said  devil  worship  has  decreased  by  one-half, 
while  the  income  of  soothsayers  and  sorcerers  has  been  greatly 
reduced.  Christians  from  Pyongyang  held  services  in  the  city 
church  at  Yungbyen,  and  many,  especially  among  the  local 
preachers  and  workers,  were  greatly  blessed. 

Not  only  was  this  true  of  the  Yungbyen  church,  but  even 
in  a more  marked  degree  the  revival  benefited  the  country 
groups.  In  the  villages  and  hamlets,  without  the  assistance 
and  guidance  of  the  foreign  missionary,  native  Christians 
carried  on  the  work  with  great  success.  In  one  of  the  far 
northern  groups  lived  a young  man  who  had  studied  as  a 
student  in  the  Pyongyang  Academy,  and  had  there  passed 
through  the  spiritual  fire.  His  first  thought  was  for  his  relatives 
in  his  northern  home,  and  he  hastened  back  and  at  once  began 
to  tell  the  people  what  he  had  received.  The  result  was  a 
regenerated  and  spiritual  church.  Like  a flaming  evangel  he 
went  from  group  to  group  in  the  mountains  and  valleys  of 
that  northern  region  and  everywhere  carried  the  blessing  to 
23 


A KOREAN  VILLAGE 

others.  The  whole  country  was  set  on  fire  and  some  of  the 
results  achieved  were  of  a remarkable  character. 

The  region  contained  in  the  American  Mining  Concession 
in  Xorth  Korea  is  embraced  in  the  Yungbyen  District.  Here 
an  interesting  evangelistic  work  has  been  carried  on 
Among  among  the  Korean  miners  which  has  enjoyed  the 
the  Miners  good  will  of  the  mining  company  and  has  been  aided 
by  them  in  many  ways.  When  this  young  student 
from  Pyongyang  visited  the  native  church  at  Pukchin,  one 
of  the  central  camps  of  the  mines,  his  message  greatly  stirred 


up  the  members.  Among  these  was  a young  Korean  employed 
in  the  assay  office  of  the  company,  and  regarded  as  the  most 
trusted  native  employee.  He  became  deeply  convicted,  how- 
ever, over  a crime  he  had  committed  during  the  years 
Confession  previous  to  his  conversion,  for  he  had  at  different 
of  Theft  times  stolen  small  quantities  of  gold  until  he  had 
accumulated  the  equivalent  of  a considerable  sum  of 
money.  After  joining  the  church  he  hid  this  gold,  hoping 
that  he  might  have  the  opportunity  to  make  the  matter  right. 
His  life  had  become  exemplary,  but  all  this  time  he  carried 
in  his  heart  the  secret  of  his  crime.  It  was  at  this  time  that 
the  power  of  God  took  hold  of  him,  and  convicted  him  so  that 
he  determined  to  make  a full  confession  of  the  matter  and 
return  the  gold.  Accordingly,  one  day  he  sought  the  mining 
officials,  and,  placing  the  gold  before  them,  told  of  his  crime 
and  said  that  while  it  meant  his  discharge,  disgrace,  and  punish- 
ment, he  must  at  all  events  get  right  with  them  and  with  God. 
This  act  produced  a profound  impression  on  his  employers. 
The  assistant  general  manager  took  him  by  the  hand  and  com- 
mending the  moral  courage  of  the  act,  told  him  that  they 
would  forgive  the  crime  and  would  not  discharge  him.  The 
result  was  that  this  trusted  employee  of  the  mining  concession 
succeeded  in  not  only  straightening  out  the  crookedness  of  the 
past,  but  in  showing  himself  worthy  of  the  increased  confidence 
which  his  employers  were  glad  to  bestow  upon  him. 

South  of  the  city  of  Pyongyang  is  the  flourishing  town  of 
Yangduk.  Here  among  the  hills  in  the  county  of  Pongsan  a 
number  of  hamlets  and  villages  have  been  partially 
At  a Wedding  evangelized,  and  the  church  which  is  located  at 
Yangduk  is  a most  promising  one.  There  was  a 
wedding  at  this  church  during  the  time  of  the  revival  in  Pyong- 
yang and  a Korean  pastor  went  there  to  perform  the  ceremony. 
He  was  fresh  from  the  revival  and  filled  with  the  Spirit  of 
God.  After  the  wedding  he  was  invited  to  preach,  and  as  he 
delivered  the  message  which  God  had  given  him,  the  Spirit 
fell  upon  the  crowd  and  men  began  to  stand  up  and  confess 
their  sins.  Great  distress  was  upon  them,  and  the  anguish 
and  grief  which  were  among  the  peculiarities  of  this  revival 
25 


were  again  manifested.  After  listening  a while  the  preacher 
called  their  attention  to  the  fact  that  repentance  without 
restitution  would  be  in  vain.  The  crowd  had  watched  at  first 
with  a disposition  to  hoot  and  laugh  at  the  distress  of  those 
under  conviction.  A change,  however,  soon  came  over  them. 
Xo  sooner  had  the  penitents  heard  the  suggestion  of  the  preacher 
that  restitution  was  necessary  than  some  of  them  arose  and 
sought  among  those  present  the  people  whom  they  had  wronged, 
and  confessing  their  sins,  asked  for  forgiveness.  In  some  cases 
they  even  insisted  on  paying  them  immediately  the  cost  of 
chickens  and  eggs  and  others  articles  which  they  had  purloined. 
This  made  a profound  impression  on  all  those  present,  and 
those  who  had  at  first  scoffed  and  jeered  were  not  only  silenced 
but  brought  under  conviction  themselves.  The  visiting  pastor 
had  intended  to  take  the  evening  train  back  to  Pyongyang 
City,  but  the  people  would  not  let  him  go;  so  he  remained 
there  and  preached  that  night  and  the  next  day,  and  before 
he  departed,  the  church  was  regenerated  and  cleansed  by  the 
fire  of  God. 

Chungsan  is  the  prefectural  city  of  the  large  county  of  the 
same  name  and  is  situated  high  up  among  tall  peaks,  from 
which  you  can  see  in  one  direction  the  city  of  Pyeng- 
In  Chungsan  yang,  thirty  miles  away,  or  in  the  other  direction 
look  far  out  over  the  muddy  waters  of  the  Yellow 
Sea.  The  church  is  nestled  down  at  the  foot  of  one  of  the 
tallest  peaks  of  the  mountain  range,  and  from  its  natural 
location  is  a strategic  center  of  our  work  in  that  very  populous 
section  of  the  country.  Work  has  been  carried  on  successfully 
in  Chungsan  for  eight  years  and  the  whole  county  is  dotted 
with  Christian  chapels.  One  day  the  leader  of  this  group  of 
Christians  came  to  Pyongyang  and  said  that  he  had  a strange 
story  to  tell.  He  had  not  known  of  the  revival  in  Pyongyang, 
and  as  communication  between  Chungsan  and  the  capital  city 
is  difficult  and  infrequent,  the  church  had  not  heard  of  it. 
He  had  been  carrying  on  meetings  in  connection  with  the 
special  services  of  the  Week  of  Prayer  and  things  had  gone 
on  very  satisfactorily  until,  to  his  great  surprise,  they  took  a 
strange  turn.  Men  would  rise  up  and  confess  their  sins,  he 


said,  and  not  content  with  that  would  break  down  in  an  anguish 
of  grief  and  sorrow  over  them.  The  result  was  that 
A Strange  a strange  new’  life  had  come  into  the  church  in  a w’ay 
New  Life  so  mysterious  that  the  leader  was  quite  puzzled  by  it 
and  hastened  to  Pyongyang  to  report  to  the  missionary 
and  to  get  his  judgment  upon  it.  This  instance  gives  evidence 
of  how  the  revival  seemed  to  be  independent  of  human  agencies 
and  would  appear  as  mysteriously  as  the  falling  of  dew’.  No 
missionary  was  present  with  this  church  during  the  days  of 
its  revival,  and  the  leader  himself  w’as  a man  who  was  cold 
and  indifferent  in  his  spiritual  life,  so  that  he  had  become  a 
problem,  and  the  missionary  in  charge  had  come  to  regard  him 
as  unfitted  for  the  position.  The  revival  here  w’as  a manifesta- 
tion of  the  freedom  of  the  Spirit  in  going  W’here  He  listed. 

The  new  year,  either  according  to  the  Gregorian  calendar 
or  the  old  Korean  calendar  (for  both  are  observed  in  Korea 
and  are  only  al)out  one  month  apart)  is  observed 
In  Chemulpo  as  a time  of  special  evangelistic  effort.  This  is  one 
of  the  results  of  the  ol^servance  of  the  Universal 
Week  of  Prayer.  Very  often  the  Korean  churches  w’ill  begin 
with  the  w’orld-w’ide  concert  of  prayer  during  the  first  week  in 
January  and  renew  it  at  the  time  of  the  Korean  New  Year. 
Chemulpo  is  one  of  the  most  wide-awake  churches  in  Korea. 
It  has  a strong  official  board,  and  at  the  time  of  the  revival 
was  under  the  leadership  of  a capable  Korean  pastor.  This 
church  l)egan  its  usual  revival  efforts  at  the  Korean  New  Year, 
W’hich  fell  early  in  our  February.  The  official  board  w’as 
aroused  to  activity,  and  every  afternoon  those  composing  it 
went  out  by  twos  to  preach  the  gospel  to  their  friends 
Individual  and  neighbors.  Two  services  were  held  each  day  in 

Effort  the  church,  one  in  the  morning  and  one  in  the  evening. 

During  these  services  the  character  of  sin  and  its 
consequences  were  dwelt  upon  and  at  the  end  of  the  w’eek  the 
church  seemed  to  be  thoroughly  aroused.  Many  of  the  mem- 
l:>ers  had  tearfully  confessed  their  sins  and  sought  forgiveness, 
and  one  hundred  and  ninety  new  converts  had  been  received 
as  inquirers.  The  Korean  pastor  and  the  official  board  felt 
that  the  meetings  had  been  successful  and  had  accomplished 
27 


their  purpose,  so  that  it  would  be  well  to  close  them  before  the 
interest  had  died  out.  This  plan  prevailed,  though  a few  who 
had  been  especially  awakened  by  the  services  decided  to  meet 
daily  for  prayer,  that  God  would  visit  the  church  in  great  power. 

Sporadic  efforts  continued  after  the  revival  in  the  Chemulpo 
church  until  about  the  end  of  March,  when  two  of  the  Korean 
preachers  in  Pyengyang  came  to  Chemulpo  by  invi- 
Antagonism  tation.  They  arrived  one  night  about  ten  o’clock 

of  the  Pastor  and  the  church  was  crowded  to  receive  them. 

Dusty  and  weary  with  their  long  journey,  they  took 
time  to  tell  a little  of  the  wonderful  work  done  in  the  North 


COLLINS  boys’  school,  CHEMULPO 

and  retired  to  rest.  The  next  day  they  began  their  work  only 
to  find  that  an  intense  spirit  of  antagonism  filled  the  hearts 
of  the  Korean  pastor  and  some  of  the  official  board.  In  spite 
of  this,  however,  the  meeting  was  marked  by  the  Spirit’s 
presence,  and  deep  conviction  came  upon  many,  leading  to 
repentance  and  to  public  confession.  The  opposition,  however, 
continued  through  the  week  and  culminated  on  Sunday  night, 
when  a crowd  gathered  outside  the  church  and,  under  the 
28 


leadership  of  some  of  the  members  of  the  official  board,  threat- 
ened to  use  violence  against  the  evangehsts  and  run  them  out 
of  town.  The  disturbers  did  not  attempt  to  invade  the  church 
building,  but  remained  outside,  carrying  on  a noisy  demonstra- 
tion. There  is  little  doubt  that  if  the  preachers  had  attempted 
to  leave  the  church  during  the  night,  violence  would  have  been 
done  them.  But  finally  they  dispersed  and  the  next  day  affairs 
took  a new  turn.  The  pastor  and  recalcitrant  members  came 
to  their  senses,  realizing  that  they  had  been  misled  into  opposing 
the  work  of  the  Holy  Spirit.  From  this  time  on  the  meetings 
resembled  in  power  the  wonderful  scenes  vdtnessed  in  Pyeng- 
yang  itself. 

These  meetings  at  Chemulpo  would  begin  as  early  as  six 
o’clock  in  the  morning  and  continue  practically  without  inter- 
mission until  midnight.  Sometimes  the  evangelists 
Deep  would  be  in  the  church  for  twenty-four  hours  at  a 

Earnestness  time.  Xo  long  sermons  were  preached,  though  there 

were  frequent  exhortations.  There  was  little  singing. 
The  characteristic  of  the  revival  was  confession,  and  so  deeply 
in  earnest  were  the  people  that  the  hours  of  the  day  and  night 
would  be  spent  in  this  one  thing.  Member  after  member 
would  await  his  opportunity  to  confess,  and  thus  the  hours 
would  fly  by  with  no  cessation  of  the  torrent  of  grief,  anguish, 
and  contrition.  As  a rule  those  who  passed  through  this 
experience  did  not  manifest  exuberant  or  noisy  joy  after  it. 
Pardon  and  assurance  came  to  the  penitents  in  Chemulpo,  as 
at  all  other  places,  with  the  same  certainty  that  day  follows 
the  night,  but  hearts  were  filled  with  a deep  and  marvelous 
peace  and  souls  were  awed  into  silence  in  the  presence  of  God. 
The  joy  of  cleansing  was  so  deep  and  abiding,  it  was  not  possible 
to  express  it  in  the  forms  of  ordinary  human  gladness.  Con- 
fession and  repentance  were  accompanied  by  ready  restitution 
for  wrongdoing.  A table  was  placed  in  the  church  where 
those  who  wished  to  restore  articles  unlawfully  acquired  might 
do  so.  This  table  was  soon  piled  high  with  stolen  goods. 
It  is  only  fair  to  say,  however,  that  most  of  these  articles  had 
been  acquired  before  the  persons  taking  them  had  become 
Christians.  In  most  cases  it  was  not  possible  to  find  the 
29 


owners.  Many  of  these  articles  were  petty  in  their  character, 
and  yet  the  consciences  of  the  people  would  not  allow  them 
to  retain  them. 

At  Seoul  the  year  opened  with  an  intense  longing  on  the 
part  of  the  missionaries  and  Korean  Christians  alike  for  a 
revival.  Meetings  were  held  in  the  churches  and  for- 
In  Seoul  eigners  and  Koreans  were  benefited,  though  the  general 
impression  prevailed  that  the  meetings  were  after  the 
usual  style  and  no  special  increase  of  power  had  come.  In 
the  midst  of  these  conditions  news  of  the  storm  at  Pyeng- 
yang  came  and  stirred  all  hearts.  A general  feeling  of  expect- 
ancy was  created  that  there  would  be  a visitation  from  God 
in  the  capital  city.  On  invitation  from  the  churches  in  Seoul, 
a Korean  elder  from  the  Presbyterian  Church  in  Pyengyang 
came  and  spent  a few  days  in  the  metropolitan  churches. 
This  was  the  beginning  of  an  experience  of  cleansing,  which 
while  it  continued  but  a few  days  and  was,  therefore,  vastly 
different  in  degree  from  that  in  Pyengyang,  yet  brought  a 
new  life  into  the  hearts  of  the  Christians.  The  same  mani- 
festations of  anguish  and  grief  over  sin,  great  distress  in  con- 
fessing, and  deep  and  wonderful  power  in  the  life  were  shown. 
The  pastor  of  the  leading  church  in  Seoul  was  one  of  those 
who  came  under  the  power  of  this  revival.  He  had  always 
lived  a correct  life,  and  yet  formality  and  indifference 
Experience  had  reduced  his  service  for  the  Master  to  a mere 

of  a Pastor  perfunctory  performance  of  his  duties.  When  the 

elder  from  Pyengyang  came  and  the  pastor  saw  the 
terrific  character  of  the  revival,  he  shrank  back  and  hardened 
his  heart  against  it,  determined  that  he  would  have  no  part 
in  opening  the  way  for  such  a visitation  of  God  among  his 
people.  The  visitation  came,  however,  and  swept  over  him, 
but  left  him  with  peace  of  heart  gone  and  a sense  of  rebellion 
oppressing  him.  The  missionary  in  charge  of  the  work  was  in 
I’yengyang  at  this  time,  but,  returning,  joined  with  his  people 
in  the  meetings.  One  Wednesday  night  after  a meeting,  dur- 
ing which  it  seemed  that  a heavy  deep  shadow  rested  upon 
the  people  and  they  were  farther  away  than  ever  from  surrender 
to  God,  a group  of  young  men  remained  after  the  service 
30 


to  talk  the  matter  over  with  the  missionary.  It  was  urged 
upon  them  that  they  should  simply  surrender  themselves  to 
the  Holy  Spirit  to  do  what  he  might  demand  of  them.  After 
listening  to  this  appeal,  they  all  knelt  in  prayer,  which  soon 
grew  into  a terrible  soul  struggle,  followed  by  personal  sur- 
render as  one  by  one  with  tears  and  outcries  they  poured  out 
their  hearts  to  God  and  gave  themselves  to  him  for  a new 
life.  The  Korean  pastor  w^as  one  of  the  first  to  attempt  to 
pray.  For  a while  it  seemed  as  though  no  prayer  would  come, 
when  suddenly,  with  the  cry  of  a man  breaking  away  from 
captors  who  were  leading  him  to  death,  he  cried  with  a voice 
that  rang  through  the  church,  “O,  Holy  Spirit,  I surrender 
to  thee.  I am  willing  to  walk  in  any  pathway  that  thou 
mayest  point  out,  and  will  resist  thee  no  longer.”  It  was  the 
moment  of  victory,  and  from  that  instant  he  was  a changed 
man.  He  had  been  associated  with  the  missionary  in  the 
most  intimate  fellowship  for  a number  of  years,  and  at  one 
time  had  been  the  missionary’s  language  teacher.  It  was 
during  this  period  he  had  become  a Christian.  The  day  fol- 
lowing the  wonderful  night  of  his  new  surrender,  he  sought 
the  missionary  and  said:  “Do  you  remember  the  old  days, 
years  ago,  when  I was  your  language  teacher?  You  trusted 
me  very  much,  so  much  so  that  you  put  temptation  before 
me.  You  were  a very  careless  young  man  in  those  days  and 
would  leave  me  in  charge  of  your  study  with  money  lying 
about.  I never  stole  any  large  amount,  but  once  in  a while 
I used  to  take  a cash  or  two  (about  one  twentieth  of  a cent) 
and  go  out  and  get  tobacco  or  a drink  of  wine.  I have  never 
told  you  before,  but  I want  to  confess  it  now  and  ask  your 
forgiveness.  I have  tried  to  reckon  up  how  much  I took,  and 
counting  interest  and  everything,  I think  that  fifty  sen  will 
cover  it  So  here  it  is.  Please  take  it.”  The  missionary 
took  the  money,  and  after  speaking  words  of  comfort,  asked 
the  privilege  of  returning  the  money  to  the  conscience-stricken 
brother.  The  latter  drew  away  as  though  he  had  been  offered 
a cup  of  deadly  poison.  “No,  no,”  he  said,  “the  Holy  Spirit 
has  told  me  to  do  this,  and  I have  done  it  in  obedience  to  him. 
There  is  no  power  on  earth  to  induce  me  to  touch  that  money.” 
31 


One  night  during  the  meetings  which  followed,  a young 
man  especially  oppressed  with  sin  came  seeking  to  get  rid  of 
his  burden.  He  said  that  when  he  first  heard  of 
Had  Reviled  Christ  he  had  been  filled  with  unutterable  hatred 
the  Christ  against  him.  He  liked  to  insult  and  revile  his 
name.  One  day  he  saw  a picture  of  Christ  hanging 
on  a wall  and  he  went  up  and  spat  upon  it.  As  he  spoke  these 
words,  a cry  of  anguish  broke  from  his  heart,  and  he  Avent  to  j 

the  floor  as  if  struck  by  a blow.  Here  he  lay  sobbing  out  his  ♦ 

confession  till  the  Christ  whom  he  had  reviled  came  and  for- 
gave him. 

Immediately  following  the  adjournment  of  the  theological 
class  in  Pyengyang  the  workers  from  the  Haiju  Circuit  re- 
turned to  their  homes  filled  with  a zeal  for  souls  and 
On  Haiju  a determination  to  introduce  the  revival  into  their  ' 

Circuit  churches.  Such  an  awakening  was  sadly  needed  there, 

as  the  churches  were  in  a very  poor  spiritual  condition. 

The  political  disturbances  had  greatly  agitated  the  people 
throughout  that  section  and  there  is  little  doubt  that  many 
of  the  church  members  had  for  a time  lost  sight  of  the  blessed- 
ness of  the  gospel  and  were  seeking  for  political  aid  and  personal 
advantage.  Into  this  eiiAuronment  the  workers  came  back 
under  a great  burden  for  the  church.  At  Haiju,  the  chief 
provincial  city,  were  held  meetings  and  the  work  was  carried 
on  with  great  vigor.  At  first  there  was  no  response.  The  1 

heavens  seemed  black  and  the  hearts  of  the  workers  were  I 

leaden.  God  seemed  to  have  forsaken  them,  yet  it  was  not  ( 

so,  for  he  had  already  prepared  the  means  by  which  Haiju  was  | 

to  be  conquered.  But  to  understand  this  we  must  look  at  ’ 

another  church.  j 

Konmi  was  one  of  the  strongest  native  churches  in  the 
province,  but  the  people  shared  in  the  general  condition  of  I 

the  circuit  and  were  cold  and  indifferent  at  this  i 

Experiences  time.  The  preacher  in  charge  of  this  group  had  , 

in  Konmi  gone  through  the  fire  at  Pyengyang  and  on  his 
return  first  sought  his  mother,  confessed  his  sins  to 
her,  and  asked  her  forgiveness.  Then,  with  seven  of  the  > 

church  members,  he  went  to  the  top  of  the  mountain  which 
32 


rises  above  the  village  and  there  in  prayer  and  confession 
they  wrestled  before  God  in  behalf  of  the  church.  The  next 
night,  at  the  service,  the  conviction  for  sin  was  something 
never  before  known.  ]\Ien  and  women  cried  in  deep  agony 
of  soul,  and  among  those  who  confessed  their  sins  was  an 
exhorter,  the  chief  man  of  the  church.  On  the  following  day 
he  changed  his  mind  concerning  the  revival,  however,  and 
declared  that  it  could  not  be  the  work  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  and 
if  allowed  to  continue,  would  lead  to  the  ruin  of  the  church, 
lie  could  not  conceive  of  the  Holy  Spirit  leading  men  to  con- 
fess hatred,  abuse,  slander,  adultery,  and  murder,  and  on  this 
account  declared  himself  opposed  to  it.  So  he  prevented  the 
holding  of  a meeting  that  evening.  It  thus  looked  dark  at 
Konmi  for  a time,  but  after  much  pleading  and  prayer  on 
the  part  of  the  preacher,  the  exhorter  finally  gave  a reluctant 
consent  and  they  were  again  permitted  to  meet  in  the  church. 
'^^dlile  the  meeting  was  in  progress,  suddenly  it  seemed  as 
though  the  heavens  opened  and  the  Spirit  of  God  descended 
on  the  worshipers.  The  people  were  overwhelmed,  but  among 
those  who  were  affected  most  strongly  was  the  exhorter. 
During  his  attempt  to  confess  his  sins  he  fell  to  the  floor  as 
though  struck  by  a blow.  Great  alarm  fell  on  the  people 
and  they  agonized  over  their  sins  and  pleaded  mightily  with 
God  for  forgiveness  and  salvation.  The  leader  received  pardon 
and  relief,  and  during  the  following  days  was  greatly  used  of 
God  in  conducting  revival  services  in  other  villages. 

It  was  this  story  which  started  the  storm  at  Haiju.  As 
the  visiting  brothers  related  it  in  the  Haiju  meeting,  convic- 
tion went  from  heart  to  heart,  and  one  after  another 
The  Blessing  rose  to  make  confession  only  to  find  it  impossible 

at  Haiju  to  continue  the  story,  for  they  fell  one  after  the 

other  to  the  floor  in  shame  and  confusion,  pleading 
with  God  for  mercy.  Peace  and  forgiveness  came  to  every 
one  of  them.  This  continued  for  a week  till  nearly  every  one 
in  the  church  had  confessed  and  was  made  clean.  Old  debts 
were  paid,  hatred  and  enmity  were  cast  out,  and  in  their 
place  came  brotherly  love  and  heart  union  in  the  bonds  of 
Christian  fellowship.  Thus  for  over  nionth^  from  village  to 
33 


4 


\’illage  and  hamlet  to  hamlet,  the  work  spread  until  eighteen 
of  the  most  prominent  churches  on  the  circuit  had  been  cleansed 
and  two  thirds  of  the  entire  church  membership  had  made 
public  confession  and  had  received  forgiveness  for  their  sins. 

There  remains  but  one  place  more  of  which  to  speak.  Two 
young  men  from  Pyengyang  spent  a week  in  Kongju  with 
blessed  results.  This  city  is  the  headquarters  of  the 
Kongju  mission  work  in  south  Korea,  and  the  center  of  a dis- 
Blessed  trict  of  over  a million  people  with  only  16,000  Christians  ^ 

among  them.  At  Kongju  itself  the  church,  through  the 
defection  of  the  Korean  preacher,  had  iDecome  filled  with 


THE  KEV.  WILLIAM  A.  NOBLE  AND  OFFICIAL  .MEMBEIIS  # 

OF  A NATIVE  CHURCH 

bickerings  and  strife.  They  were  in  sad  spiritual  need.  Under 
the  ministry  of  the  two  evangelists,  the  scenes  witnessed  in 
Pyengyang  and  Chemulpo  were  repeated  in  Kongju.  Every 
member  of  the  local  church  made  public  confession  and  restitu- 
tion; old-time  enemies  were  reconciled  and  all  started  in  the 
new  and  higher  life. 

This  hasty  review  of  the  territory  covered  by  the  revival 
as  far  as  it  related  to  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  gives  » 

a very  inadcciuate  itiea  of  the  immense  amount  of  gootl  that  ^ 

34 


was  accomplished.  Out  of  it  were  born  a new  chui'ch  and  a 
new  ministry  in  Korea. 

THE  DIRECT  EFFECTS  OF  THE  REVIVAL 

What  have  been  the  permanent  results  of  the  revival?  In 
answer  several  things  may  be  mentioned. 

I 1.  The  revival  has  resulted  in  deepening  among  the  Chris- 

Itians  the  knowledge  of  sin  and  righteousness.  The  teaching 
of  Christianity  on  those  subjects  is  new  to  the 
Sense  of  Sin  and  Koreans,  who,  while  not  devoid  of  the  sense  of 
I Righteousness  sin  and  righteousness,  have  standards  different 
i from  those  we  hold.  The  revival  brought  upon 

the  heart  of  the  church  a deep  impression  of  the  exceeding 
sinfulness  of  sin  and  of  the  everlasting  obligation  of  righteous- 
ness. This  fact  was  well  illustrated  by  the  experience  of  a 
servant  of  one  of  the  missionaries.  The  man  had  been  a Chris- 
tian for  ten  years.  He  had  attended  church  faithfully,  and 
hacl  always  given  close  attention  to  all  tliat  was  said  in  the 
services.  During  the  early  part  of  the  revival  he  took  a stand 
I in  opposition.  To  him  the  scenes  of  distress  furnished  a source 

of  amusement.  The  kitchen  where  he  labored  was  often  made 
a stage  where  he  amused  his  companions  l)y  imitating  the 
revival  scenes.  He  would  throw  himself  on  the  floor  and 
pretend  to  beat  it  with  his  fists,  and  amid  shouts  of  laughter 
go  through  the  physical  contortions  which  were  so  often  wit- 
nessed in  the  church.  One  morning  his  employer  asked  him 
if  he  was  at  peace  with  Cotl.  Mumbling  a reply,  he  hastily 
left  the  room.  At  the  opening  of  the  meeting  the  following 
evening,  he  took  a seat  among  those  sitting  at  the  front  of  the 
church,  and  when  an  opportunity  was  given  to  take  part,  he 
sprang  to  his  feet  and  in  terrilile  distress  confessed  the  sins 
of  his  life.  Among  other  things,  he  told  of  the  way  in  which 
he  had  often  betrayed  the  confidence  of  his  employer.  At  last, 
in  utter  aliandon,  he  ran  to  the  platform  and  crawling  on  his 
hands  and  knees,  flung  himself  at  the  feet  of  the  missionary 
who  employed  him,  and  liegged  forgiveness  for  all  the  wrongs 
that  he  had  committe<l  against  him.  From  that  moment  he 
was  a changed  man.  The  vice  of  pilfering,  against  which  he 
35 


had  struggled  so  long,  now  stood  out  in  all  its  hideous  aspects; 
its  power  was  broken,  and  he  passed  into  Christian  freedom 
and  a life  of  joy. 

2.  Another  noteworthy  effect  of  the  revival  was  the  cleansing 
of  the  individual  church  member.  For  many  years  the  church 
in  Pyengyang  had  been  tried  by  one  of  its  members. 
Heart  A man  by  the  name  of  Kim  was  converted  during 

Cleansing  the  early  days  of  missionary  work  in  the  north, 
of  Christians  standing  firm  during  times  of  severe  persecution  and 
identifying  himself  with  God’s  people  when  to  do 
so  was  at  the  risk  of  life.  These  facts  had  endeared  him  to 
the  hearts  of  many,  but  before  he  became  a Christian,  he  was 
a victim  of  strong  drink,  and  periodically  he  would  return  to 
his  cups,  and  for  days  his  wife  and  family  would  suffer  the 
untold  misery  which  brutish  drunkenness  can  inflict.  After  a 
period  of  debauchery  he  would  again  turn  to  the  church  and 
in  tears  confess  his  sins,  and  begging  forgiveness  would  begin 
all  over  again.  These  lapses  continued  until  it  became  nec- 
essary to  try  him  and  expel  him  from  the  church.  When  the 
revival  meetings  began  he  took  no  part  in  them,  though  he 
would  often  sit  back  in  the  rear  of  the  church  and  watch  all 
that  occurred.  At  last  some  of  those  who  had  received  the 
blessing  went  to  him  and  urged  him  to  give  himself  to  God 
for  cleansing,  lie,  in  a spirit  of  mockery,  agreed  to  do  so. 
The  next  evening  when  an  opportunity  for  confession  was  giv(‘U, 
Kim  arose  to  his  feet  and  rushing  to  tlie  front,  called  in  a loud 
voice  for  everyone  to  look  at  him.  “See,”  said  he,  “I  am  the 
worst  scoundrel  in  this  city,  and  you  all  know  it.  I have 
l)een  a drunkard  for  many  years,  and  1 have  been  in  the  habit 
of  beating  my  wife  and  of  making  my  home  a place  of  horror. 
You  all  know  me  and  know  what  a fiend  I have  been,”  He 
threw  himself  to  the  floor  and  with  cries  and  contortions  of 
the  body,  imitated  the  scenes  he  had  been  watching  so  long. 
Everyone  knew  that  he  was  not  sincere,  and  the  scene  filled 
the  congregation  with  the  keenest  distress.  Spontaneously  all 
knelt  and  lifted  their  voices  in  prayer  for  the  heartless,  mocking 
man.  A thousand  voices  arose  as  the  voice  of  one  man  and 
the  sound  of  their  ])rayer  swept  through  the  church  and  out 
36 


over  the  city.  “O,  God,”  they  cried,  “save  this  our  sinful, 
mocking  brother,” 

Two  nights  after  this  incident,  Kim  was  again  at  church. 
God  had  already  laid  his  hands  upon  him,  and  when  the  pastor 
looked  down  upon  the  congregation,  he  saw  him  stretched  out 
upon  the  floor  in  unmistakable  anguish.  For  a time  over- 
whelming sorrow  seemed  to  threaten  to  end  his  life.  When 
he  was  able  to  rise  to  his  feet  amid  paroxysms  of  grief  he 
pleaded  for  forgiveness  for  the  mockery  of  the  two  nights 
previous.  From  that  hour  his  heart  was  cleansed  and  the  man, 
who  before  had  been  unalile  to  pass  a dramshop  without  stop- 
ping to  buy  a drink,  began  a new  life,  and  now,  after  months 
of  testing,  he  is  one  of  the  best  examples  of  clean,  victorious 
living  in  the  church.  After  his  experience  of  being  cleansed, 
he  liecame  very  earnest  in  his  efforts  to  save  his  old  associates, 
and  during  the  next  few  weeks  lirought  into  the  church  more 
seekers  than  any  other  member. 

3.  The  revival  resulted  in  the  deepen- 
ing of  the  prayer  life  of  the  Christian.  We 
have  already  indicated  the  place 
Deepened  that  prayer  took  in  the  inception 
Prayer  Life  of  the  revival.  During  its  prog- 
ress many  of  the  Christians 
learned  a new  secret  concerning  prayer. 

Probably  this  can  be  best  illustrated  l)y 
the  testimony  of  one  of  the  missionaries. 

He  had  always  been  a man  of  faith  and 
prayer,  and  was  in  no  wise  different  from 
his  colleagues  in  the  sincerity  and  pur- 
poseful character  of  his  prayers.  Yet  as 
he  gave  himself  utterly  to  the  ministry  of 
intercession,  forgetting  himself  and  wrest- 
ling in  prayer  with  God  for  others,  he 
came  into  possession  of  a new  power  he 
had  never  before  knovm.  This  was  also  true  in  the  lives  of 
many  others.  They  put  red  blood  in  their  prayer  life.  It  had 
always  been  a precious  privilege,  but  now  it  became  a primary 
method  of  work.  Prayer  became  a real  business  with  them — 
37 


the  main  business  of  life.  They  went  about  it  with  the  same 
definite  purpose  that  they  brought  to  all  their  tasks.  They 
prayed  for  those  in  need  no  matter  where  they  were  or  what 
might  be  their  condition. 

Every  afternoon,  at  four  o’clock,  the  missionaries  at  Pyeng- 
yang  gathered  for  intercessory  prayer  at  the  high  school. 
There  was  no  leader  anti  no  singing,  but  before  going  to  their 
knees,  an  opportunity  would  be  given  to  anyone  present  to 
mention  any  special  matter  pressing  upon  the  heart.  Then 
all  would  kneel  and  each  in  turn,  as  the  Spirit  moved,  would 
voice  his  petition  to  God.  There  was  no  time  hmit;  and  the 
minutes  would  grow  into  an  hour,  or  even  two  hours,  before 
they  would  rise  from  their  knees.  The  Koreans,  too,  found 
this  secret  and  gave  themselves  up  to  intercession,  a company 
of  them  often  spending  a whole  night  in  prayer  for  their  friends. 
Even  the  official  boards  of  some  of  the  churches  would  meet 
and  spend  all  night  in  prayer  for  the  town  in  which  they  lived, 
thus  laying  emphasis  upon  their  official  relationship  to  the 
spiritual  as  well  as  the  temporal  activities  of  their  church. 
The  answers  received  were  swift  and  remarkable,  and  some 
of  the  most  notable  results  of  the  revival  came  as  the  direct 
answer  to  intercessoiy  prayer. 

One  of  the  brightest  and  strongest  of  the  young  men,  after 
passing  through  the  experience  of  cleansing,  was  seen  to  be 
in  terril:)le  mental  agony.  The  missionary  inquired  into 
For  His  it,  asking  him  if  he  had  yet  found  peace  in  his  own  heart. 
Sister  “O,  yes,”  said  he,  “yes,  yes,  I am  all  right,  but  look  at 
this,”  and  he  thrust  into  the  hand  of  the  missionary  a 
small  piece  of  paper,  upon  which  was  written  the  single  word 
mi-ee  (sister).  Choking  down  his  sobs,  the  young  man  man- 
aged to  say;  “Pray  for  my  sister.”  The  missionary  promised, 
and  united  his  prayers  with  that  of  the  brother.  Some  time 
after,  the  missionary  asked  him  about  his  sister.  In  answer 
the  young  man  with  radiant  face  told  how  he  had  gone  home, 
eighty  li  (twenty-seven  miles)  away,  to  see  his  family  and  talk 
the  matter  over,  and  “Xow,”  said  he,  “my  sister  is  saved,  my 
sister  is  saved.” 

One  of  the  most  remarkable  developments  of  the  revival 


was  that  of  audible  prayer.  One  Sunday  mornino;  the  mission- 
ary in  charge  of  the  meeting  asked  the  coiigre- 
United  Audible  gation  to  engage  in  united  prayer.  Spontaneously, 
Prayer  a murmur  of  audible  prayer  arose  from  a thousand 

lips,  gradually  growing  in  volume,  until  it  filled 
the  church.  It  produced  no  confusion  and  their  voices  united 
like  the  notes  from  some  great  instrument  of  music.  The 
scene  of  a great  congregation  of  a thousand  or  fifteen  hundred 
people  all  on  their  faces  before  God  uniting  in  audible  prayer, 
was  thrilling  beyond  description,  producing  an  effect  greater 
even  than  united  song.  Thus  the  Korean  Church  discovered 
new  wonders  in  prayer  anti  have  now  a confidence  in  the  power 
of  this  blessed  privilege  which  is  of  inestimable  value  to  them. 

4.  As  one  becomes  familiar  with  the  spirit  and  ideas  that 
underlie  the  old  life  of 
the  Korean 
Consciousness  people,  he  is 
of  Brotherhood  impressed 
with  its  cal- 
lousness. The  ancient 
question,  “Am  I my 
brother’s  keeper?”  would 
be  answered  l)y  the  typical 
Korean  with  an  emphatic 
negative.  Probably  the 
native  family  system  is 
responsible  for  this.  Men 
recognize  that  they  are 
united  by  the  ties  of  kin- 
dred, but  the  broader  ties 
of  humanity  are  little 
known.  One  of  the  most 
helpful  results  was  a deep- 
ening among  the  Christians 
of  the  sense  of  responsi- 
bility for  the  welfare  of  others.  They  got  a glimpse  of  the 
great  ('hristian  teaching  that  we  are  more  than  our  brother’s 
keeper — we  are  our  brother’s  brother.  The  story  of  the 
39 


preaclior  at  Haiju  l^rings  this  out.  He  was  a good  man 
and  in  his  way  an  effective  worker,  but  he  cared  much  for 
himself  and  veiy  little  for  others.  He  had  no  passion  for 
souls.  He  had  been  in  the  employ  of  the  mission  as  a 
helper  for  several  years,  but  had  always  shrunk  back  when 
asked  to  go  to  any  place  of  difficulty  or  hardship.  During  the 
session  of  the  theological  class  he  was  among  the  first  to  sur- 
render to  the  Spirit  of  God,  and  he  came  out  of  this  experience 
of  confession  and  sorrow  with  a deep  and  lasting  sense  of  peace 
and  a holy  passion  for  souls.  After  the  revival  he  was  appointed 
to  Haiju,  where  the  work  was  suffering  through  the  failure 
of  the  native  pastor.  He  took  up  the  work  under  special 
difficulty,  but  in  a short  time  he  had  transformed  the  church. 
He  carried  the  warmth  and  earnestness  of  his  new-found 
experience  out  into  other  sections  with  the  result  that  the 
whole  region  was  stirred  as  deeply  and  regenerated  as  thor- 
oughlj"  as  any  district  touched  by  the  storm.  This  thought 
of  the  intensifying  of  the  sense  of  personal  responsibility  for 
others  might  be  illustrated  by  repeated  examples  from  the 
lives  of  our  preachers  and  workers. 

5.  The  revival  gave  the  missionaries  an  understanding  of 
Korean  life  such  as  they  had  not  before  possessed.  They  can 
now  appreciate  the  Korean  Christian  more  fully 
A Better  and  help  him  more  wisely  than  in  the  past.  Far 

Understanding  from  being  discouraged,  the  missionary  in  Korea 
of  Korean  Life  has  come  to  see  in  the  native  Christian  moral 
possibihties  of  the  highest  order.  The  revival 
lifted  the  curtain  from  Korean  life  and  character,  and  revealed 
the  native  man  in  new  anti  very  dark  colors.  ^Ye  have  already 
indicated  the  astonishment  and  consternation  with  which  the 
missionaries  listened  to  the  confessions  made.  It  would  seem 
that  such  terrible  tragedies  in  ordinary  life  could  not  occur 
without  becoming  matters  of  public  knowledge  and  thus  being 
prevented.  As  a fact,  the  terrible  moral  condition  revealed 
was  a matter  of  common  knowledge  among  the  Koreans,  but 
it  was  to  them  a normal  condition  and  excited  little  comment. 
Foreigners  are  necessarily  so  separated  from  the  Koreans  by 
the  barriers  of  language  and  custom  that  as  a rule  they  get 
40 


v(‘iy  little  Ijeyond  the  perimeter  of  Korean  social  life  and  know 
nothing  of  what  lies  within.  It  is  not  surprising,  therefore, 
that  the  confession  came  as  a terrifying  revelation.  A super- 
ficial observer  listening  to  what  was  confessed  might  think 
that  Korean  character  is  thoroughly  degenerate,  and  that 
there  is  no  moral  base  upon  which  to  erect  a really  worthy 
ethical  life.  Most  of  the  writers  in  recent  times  w'ho  have 
described  Korea  have  dwelt  altogether  on  this  phase,  and  have 
thus  unconsciously  placed  the  Korean  in  a wrong  light.  His 
confessions  when  rightly  interpreted  reveal  the  fact  that  there 
are  many  other  things  besides  sin  in  Korean  life.  Korean 
passions  run  very  deep.  He  possesses  force,  courage,  and 
loyalty  with  generosity  and  magnanimity,  which  need  only 
favorable  conditions  for  development.  When  we  view  against 
the  dark  background  of  the  old  life  the  brighter  colors 
Moral  of  his  virtues  as  a Christian,  the  Korean  stands  out  as 
Courage  much  a hero  as  any  man  on  earth.  It  was  heroic  simply 
to  make  such  confessions.  It  took  moral  courage  of 
the' highest  type  publicly  to  avow  the  gross  and  terrible  mistakes 
of  the  past  and  to  seek  forgiveness  of  Almighty  God  and  of 
fellow  men. 

G.  The  revival  had  an  indirect  bearing  on  the  maintenance 
of  law  and  order  during  a time  of  great  national  disturbance. 
In  connection  with  the  al^dication  of  the  emperor  in 
Law  and  1907,  serious  disturbances  broke  out  in  Korea  which  at 
Order  one  time  threatened  to  assume  large  proportions.  Dur- 
ing this  time  the  conduct  of  the  church  was  most 
commendable.  Both  at  Seoul  and  Pyengyang,  and  throughout 
the  disturbed  sections,  the  Christians  exerted  their  influence 
on  the  side  of  law  and  order  and  contributed  very  largely  to 
keeping  the  spirit  of  disorder  under  control.  In  the  north,  no 
uprising  against  the  government  occurred,  and  this  was  all  the 
more  remarkable,  as  the  people  in  Pyengyang  and  the  northern 
provinces  are  the  most  excitable  and  turbulent  in  the  empire. 
Any  just  review  of  the  causes  which  contributed  to  tranquillity 
must  give  a large  share  of  credit  to  the  restraining  influence 
of  the  churches.  Throughout  this  entire  region,  both  in  the 
north  and  at  Seoul,  misguided  patriots  threatened  the  lives 
41 


of  missionaries  and  native  preachers  because  their  influence 
was  against  disorder,  but  as  the  result  of  the  counsels  and 
restraining  influence  of  the  Christian  workers,  bloodshed  was 
prevented  and  order  maintained.  It  will  be  noted  that  in  the 
regions  where  this  occurred  the  revival  had  first  prepared  the 
churches  so  that  they  were  more  ready  to  stand  for  law  and 
order. 

7.  One  of  the  direct  results  of  the  revival  is  the  great 
missionary  campaign  now  being  carried  on  in  Korea.  The 

church  is  thoroughly  organized  to  carry  the  gospel 
Personal  Work  message  to  one  million  Koreans  one  by  one. 
of  Natives  Individual  Christians  have  personally  consecrated 

days  of  service  taken  from  their  business,  dui'ing 
which  they  visit  their  neighbors  and  friends,  urging  them  to 
accept  the  Lord.  In  the  early  part  of  this  campaign  the  sum 
total  of  all  the  days  of  service  pledged  by  the  men  and  women 
in  the  Korean  churches  was  equal  to  the  continuous  service 
of  one  man  for  over  three  hundred  years.  A statement  pul> 
lished  in  one  of  the  newspapers  in  the  city  of  Seoul  giving  the 
results  of  this  campaign  between  the  months  of  November,  1901), 
and  May,  1910,  says  that  there  has  l^een  in  all  probability  as 
the  result  of  these  efforts  an  increase  in  the  church  member- 
ship of  over  thirty  per  cent.  This  would  mean  that  over 
80,000  converts  have  been  won  to  Christ  during  the  six  months 
covered.  May  we  not  learn  from  this  result  that  the  surest 
way  to  reach  those  that  are  now  out  of  Christ  is  to  first  inspire 
God’s  people  with  new  life  and  devotion  to  him  and  fill  them 
with  a practical  ideal  of  personal  service? 

8.  Few  people  realize  the  important  position  that  Korea  is 
destined  to  occupy  in  the  development  of  the  Asiatic  world. 

History  has  shown  that  a people  may  lose  their 
Influence  on  the  national  independence  without  losing  their  influ- 
Asiatic  World  ence  on  the  life  of  the  world.  The  position 
occupied  l)y  Korea  as  first  neighbor  to  China 
will  make  her  influence  upon  that  country  of  the  greatest 
moment.  With  railroads  running  from  the  Yalu  to  all  the 
large  ports  in  the  Japan  Sea,  Manchuria  will  find  her  highway 
eastward  through  the  Korean  peninsula.  The  capital  of  Korea 
42 


is  nearer  to  Peking  than  is  Chicago  to  New  York.  An  American 
express  train  could  cover  the  distance  between  the  two  capitals 
in  fourteen  hours.  That  means  that  any  overwhelming  influ- 
ence which  may  obtain  in  Korea  will  mightily  affect  China. 
As  has  been  shown  in  what  we  have  said  above,  the  Korean 
people  are  perhaps  the  most  religious  people  of  the  Far  East, 
and  all  visitors  who  have  come  under  the  influence  of  their 
great  Christian  congregations  have  been  deeply  impressed  by 
them.  Already  the  line  of  railroad  reaching  into  Manchuria  is 
dotted  the  whole  distance  from  Fusan  to  Wiju  with  Christian 
communities,  and  churches  have  been  planted  Ijeyond  the  Yalu 
in  Chinese  territory.  The  great  revival  which  has  visited 
Manchuria  is  known  as  the  “Korean  Revival.” 

A deep  impression  has  also  been  produced  upon  the  Japanese 
Church.  A number  of  Japanese  were  converted  in  the  meetings 
held  in  Pyengyang,  although  they  were  ignorant  of 
A Japanese  the  Korean  language  and  the  contact  was  one  alto- 

Officer  . gether  in  spirit.  The  Christians  who  witnessed  the 

effects  of  the  revival  on  the  Koreans  were  profoundly 
moved  and  carried  back  the  news  to  Japan,  where  in  several 
instances  it  resulted  in  quickening  the  Japanese  Church.  An 
instance  in  illustration.  One  night  there  came  into  the  meeting 
in  Pyengyang  a Japanese  army  officer  who  appeared  to  be 
deeply  interested  in  what  was  taking  place.  Wlien  the  Chris- 
tians knelt  in  prayer,  he  knelt  with  them,  but  when  they  arose 
he  continued  prostrate  before  God.  No  one  present  could 
speak  the  Japanese  language,  so  it  was  not  possible  to  com- 
municate with  him.  Shortly  afterward  he  arose  and  left  the 
meeting.  The  next  day  he  came  with  the  pastor  of  the  Japanese 
church  in  Pyengyang  to  see  the  missionary,  ble  told  of  how 
in  the  past  he  had  no  belief  in  the  existence  of  Gocb  but  in  the 
meeting  had  been  so  impressed  with  what  had  taken  place 
that  he  could  doubt  no  longer  his  being  and  presence,  and 
there  had  given  his  heart  to  Christ.  As  he  was  soon  to  return 
to  Japan  he  requested  baptism,  and  the  following  night  a little 
group  of  Japanese  took  their  place  in  the  midst  of  the  vast 
audience  of  Koreans.  At  the  close  of  the  service  this  soldier- 
Christian  was  baptized  into  the  Christian  faith  amid  the  com- 
43 


mon  rejoicing  of  Japanese  and  Koreans.  The  officer  returned 
to  Japan  with  his  heart  filled  with  the  divine  passion  for  souls. 
He  preached  the  gospel  in  the  garrison  city  to  which  he  was 
appointed  with  such  earnestness  that  the  entire  community  was 
deeply  stirred  and  many  persons  brought  to  Christ. 

This  is  but  typical  of  the  possible  influence  that  Korea  may 
exert  upon  her  neighbors.  There  can  be  no  doubt  that  Divine 
Providence  has  destined  the  three  empires  of  the  Far  East — 
Japan,  China,  and  Korea — to  relations  of  the  most  intimate 
character.  The  reaction  of  these  nations  on  each  other  will 
necessarily  be  intense.  If,  as  we  firmly  believe,  it  should  be 
Korea’s  destiny  to  have  a large  part  in  molding  the  religious 
sentiment  of  this  great  far  eastern  group  of  empires,  who  can 
adequately  measure  the  importance  of  the  service  that  she  will 
perform  and  the  imperative  necessity  that  the  Christian  Church 
should  hasten  to  Korea  with  the  help  that  the  infant  church 
in  the  peninsula  needs? 

The  growth  of  the  church  in  Korea  furnishes  a bright 
promise  of  the  speedy  evangelization  of  this  people.  The  first 
converts  under  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  were 
The  Outlook  reported  in  1888  and  numbered  thirty-eight.  In 
1910,  the  total  following  of  the  church  was  over 
50,000 — an  increase  of  more  than  a thousandfold.  It  is  easy 
to  work  out  marvelous  results  with  figures  in  connection  with 
any  enterprise,  but  when  one  contemplates  the  numerical 
growth  of  the  church,  the  result  must  be  a great  strengthening 
of  the  faith  of  the  church  in  the  complete  success  of  its  mission 
to  the  world.  In  Korea  we  have  a field  in  which  there  is 
promise  of  the  rapid  evangelization  of  the  entire  nation,  and 
whose  very  condition  constitutes  an  imperative  call  to  the 
church  to  concentrate  her  effort  on  the  great  work  of  giving 
a people  so  ready  for  it  the  gospel  of  Christ. 

As  far  as  human  foresight  can  penetrate  the  future,  there  is 
no  reason  why  the  wonderful  growth  attained  should  not  be 
maintained  and  even  exceeded.  The  vital  question  is:  Will 
the  church  in  America  meet  the  responsibility  which  this  con- 
dition of  affairs  imposes  upon  her?  The  crux  of  the  missionary 
question,  as  far  as  it  relates  to  Korea,  is  not  here  on  the  field, 
44 


hut  is  at  homo  on  the  threshold  of  the  church  in  America. 
No  obstacle  appears  ahead  of  us  to  prevent  the  saving  of  hun- 
dreds of  thousands  of  Koreans.  It  is  only  a question  of  whether 
the  church  at  home  will  make  good  the  opportunity  which  has 
been  given  her  of  God — to  bestow  upon  one  nation,  during 
this  generation,  the  priceless  boon  of  becoming  Christian  in 
its  national  and  individual  life.  i 


